HighTower Advisors LLC Cuts Stake in Southern Copper Co. (NYSE:SCCO)

HighTower Advisors LLC lowered its position in shares of Southern Copper Co. (NYSE:SCCO) by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 29,652 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 710 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Southern Copper were worth $3,432,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Centiva Capital LP raised its holdings in Southern Copper by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Centiva Capital LP now owns 16,644 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,925,000 after purchasing an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Southern Copper by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. now owns 49,404 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,715,000 after acquiring an additional 2,518 shares during the last quarter. Beck Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern Copper during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,391,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Southern Copper by 2,816.0% during the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 5,103 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $590,000 after acquiring an additional 4,928 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new position in shares of Southern Copper in the third quarter worth approximately $459,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 7.94% of the company’s stock.

Southern Copper Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of SCCO opened at $103.55 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.77, a quick ratio of 2.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $108.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $107.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $81.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.14. Southern Copper Co. has a 12-month low of $73.78 and a 12-month high of $129.79.

Southern Copper Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a — dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 21st. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 6th were issued a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 6th. This represents a dividend yield of 2.1%. Southern Copper’s payout ratio is currently 72.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SCCO has been the topic of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Southern Copper from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $92.50 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Southern Copper from $99.44 to $100.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Southern Copper from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their price target on shares of Southern Copper from $54.00 to $52.00 and set a “sector underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $94.56.

Southern Copper Profile

Southern Copper Corporation engages in mining, exploring, smelting, and refining copper and other minerals in Peru, Mexico, Argentina, Ecuador, and Chile. The company is involved in the mining, milling, and flotation of copper ore to produce copper and molybdenum concentrates; smelting of copper concentrates to produce blister and anode copper; refining of anode copper to produce copper cathodes; production of molybdenum concentrate and sulfuric acid; production of refined silver, gold, and other materials; and mining and processing of zinc, copper, molybdenum, silver, gold, and lead.